Justin Moore Debuts New Album in New York City

Small-town singer hits the Big Apple for album launch.

Joseph Hudak

For Justin Moore, New York City may as well be Mars when compared to his own small-town U.S.A. of Poyen, Ark. But, surprisingly, that’s exactly where the low-key cowboy decided to celebrate the debut of his second album, Outlaws Like Me, throwing a raucous release party at B.B. King’s Blues Club & Grill in Times Square before an appreciative crowd dressed in everything from ballcaps to banker attire.

“When you grow up in the South, your perception is that only country folks and country-music fans are south of the Mason-Dixon Line. We knew better than that before tonight, but this just proves it,” Justin told CountryWeekly.com after his performance, still reeling from the big-city reception. “They knew songs that not only were not singles, but have not even been on albums yet. It was pretty cool.”

Along with his latest single, “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away”—his fastest-rising to date—Justin stomped through hits such as “Backwoods” and “Small Town USA,” as well as the crowd-pleasing “I Could Kick Your Ass,” which was met with hoots and hollers from a table of young, sharp-dressed New York businessmen.

“It’s crazy, it’s crazy,” Justin said. “To have a crowd like that makes it a lot of fun. It’s a perfect way to cap the night of the album release.” And fret not, New York country fans: Before getting on the bus for an all-night drive to Indianapolis, Justin stressed that his first gig in Gotham won’t be his last. “For us to step out of the box and do something that is out of my comfort zone, playing New York City, it’s not only cool to me, but to my record label, and to country music in general. We need to make it a point to come back up here more often.”